It used to be revolutionary to hold your money with a bank that didn’t have any brick and mortar locations for you to visit.

Now high yield online savings accounts are more common and the decision comes down to which online bank you should open an account with.

There are many key factors in that decision — high interest rate, customer service, and account fees — that Ally Bank’s online savings comes out on top if you compare to other accounts.

What is Ally Bank?

Ally Bank’s story sounds eerily familiar to the mythical firebird phoenix that is rebirthed out of its own ashes.

That might sound strange for a bank, but Ally Bank is the new edition of GMAC or General Motors Acceptance Corporation.

GMAC was originally founded in 1919 and grew over the course of time, but like many banks a few years ago, got caught up in the financial crisis due to loose mortgage lending standards. The bank had to take on TARP funding from the government and was rebranded to shed some of the bad image associated with the financial crisis. A significant portion of the company is still owned by the US government, although the company is actively repaying on the funds it received. (And a majority of the problems are on the mortgage side of the business, not on the personal banking side that Ally is on.) Continue Reading

For years, American Express has had the luxury/executive card market to itself with its wildly successful Platinum Card®. Visa® has entered the upscale luxury card market with its Black Card (the card is backed by Barclays Bank Delaware).

The Visa Black Card is working to differentiate itself from other credit cards with its appearance and exclusivity.

The Visa Black Card is made with carbon (no, you shouldn’t concern yourself with how a card looks but it is kind of neat that’s it’s carbon – maybe it could come in handy in a MacGuyver situation?). Also, membership is limited in order to ensure top-quality service for members. That’s a big distinction from most of the plastic credit cards on the market today.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits that the Visa Black Card offers, shall we?

Do you fly with Southwest Airlines? Would you like a free flight and many other benefits as well (like earning points towards flights, points you can use for international travel, and not paying for your bags to fly, and more)?

Of course you would!

See how the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card can work for you in this review.

Let’s take a look at what the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus credit card offers:

Are you looking for a cash back card that can give you up to 5% back on your purchases? CitiBank has a limited time offer on their Citi Dividend World MasterCard that can earn you $300 cash back in three months as well as 5% on rotating categories. Let’s review the Citi Dividend World MasterCard and see what else is in store for you when you sign up.

Stock trading has come a long way in just over a generation and TD Ameritrade has been a part of that history for more than forty years. It was only thirty years ago that stock trading was still done by calling a stock broker who called a specialist who took part in an auction process that would eventually result in you, the client, owning stock. Although this still happens today, much of the stock trading now takes place using computer technology.

To see how computers have had a remarkable effect on the investment markets, in 1961 the New York Stock Exchange reached trading days of 4 million shares sold. Today, because of new technology, over 4 billion shares are traded on some days.

Because of this new technology, much larger volumes of trades can now take place and more trades means more business for brokers. That extra demand has given rise to a virtually endless supply of online brokers that made the stock market accessible to all consumers at a price they can afford.

In the following TD Ameritrade review, we’ll see what makes this broker tick and why they may be a good fit for your investing needs. Continue Reading

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Free From Broke is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Be smart and do your own research or contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation.

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